Praise for The Hey You Monster

Both parts (of The Hey You Monster) reaffirm Mr. Ahonen's gift for original playmaking and the Amoralists' penchant for fearless ensemble and character work ... uncivilized, lunging, choking, pushing, shoving, hitting, screaming and wailing sort of affairs.'

'What a pleasure it is again to witness a group of artists working their stuff with such vigor and intelligence.'

'There is impressive ensemble work here lead by Mr. Ahonen wearing the hat of director for part one. Rochelle Rae Mikulich as Jojo dances lithely between portraiture and parody of an Astoria housewife. Hilarious and touching James Kautz steals scene after scene as stuttering beat cop Forrest Marlow simply by entering the room and trying to get his first words out.'

'Director David Levy-Horton gets great work from his actors in the second part. Cheers to Deshja Driggs-Hall as Jackie, obliterated by alcohol she never plays drunk and her lapses into befuddlement break your heart. Contessa, as played by Jennifer Fouche, does so in quieter ways, suggesting a depth and capacity for love that risks her own happiness. Cagy actor Duane Ferguson takes a potentially unlikable Dexel and makes him sympathetic flesh and blood. Helena Lee does some crazy physical acting that launches her from petulant child into full blown demon-seed in a sort of modern dance of the insane.'

'The sets for both parts, designed by Alfred Schatz and Matthew Pilieci, seem to want to get into a fight. The refrigerator creaks, alcohol splashes, the wine rack teeters, the Mr. Coffee steams and gurgles and the baseboard moldings snap and crack off with no provocation.'

'So what is the two-part, four-hour The Hey You Monster getting at? 'Hey You' seems to be a call for attention while 'monster' points a finger of blame. As any twelve-step guru will observe, when you're pointing a finger at someone else, three fingers are pointing back at you. Good theater like this points a finger at itself while triply engaging the viewer.'

Jonathan Reuning
United Stages

'Feels like a mashup of Sam Shepard, Tracy Letts, and Harold Pinter.'

'The strength of the play is its remarkable naturalistic dialogue and plotting. The characters feel authentically ordinary and their actions and reactions feel organic. Ahonen is challenging the audience to consider just how far they might go if the incalculably terrible things that have befallen this family happened to them instead. His talent as a playwright is very impressive.'

'The energy of the ensemble is indisputable, and the numerous fight sequences are in-your-face and packed with knuckle-biting verisimilitude. Pilieci is thrillingly believable as the very troubled son Glen. Craig Peugh and George Walsh have and excellent chemistry that's makes it easy to accept them as blood relatives.'

'...raw, visceral theatre that engages the gut and the brain, and marks The Amoralists as a young company to keep paying attention to.'

Martin Denton
NYTheatre.com

Praise for The Pied Pipers Of The Lower East Side

'The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side, written and directed by Derek Ahonen and presented by The Amoralists, is the most exciting theatre I've seen in quite a while; its adventurousness, its fearlessness, and its wide-ranging embrace of a potpourri of important and challenging subjects mark it as something special-the kind of work that makes theatre-going the uniquely vital experience that, at its best, it can be ... a jolt of energy, right when (and where) we need it.'

'The Amoralists probe the important subject of how a person can live in accordance with their ideals in a world where that seems impossible; the debate here is compelling and authentic and smartly not one-sided.'

'The sheer scope of this piece-touching on religion, environmentalism, economics, anarchy, vegetarianism, sexuality, and much more-makes it endlessly admirable, as does its willingness to look at controversial subject matter frankly and uncompromisingly.'

'The production is thoroughly professional, and though the play runs nearly three hours, it never drags and constantly keeps us riveted. The six actors give bold, thoughtful performances.
Sarah Fraunfelder, James Kautz and especially Helena Lee and Pilieci create sympathetic, compelling, three-dimensional characters whom we come to care about and understand.

'The Amoralists are making theatre here that really does have the capacity to lead their audience toward some meaningful social change. This is raw, potent, visceral work ...This is a play that means what it says and says what it means, and is never afraid to put its metaphorical money where its mouth is. How I respect that; and how I look forward to whatever these folks come up with next.'

Martin Denton
NYTheatre.com

'The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side is so enjoyable and satisfying to watch it’s particularly tough to review. Over-hyping audience expectations—or worse, hoisting a mantel of “next hot group” onto the The Amoralists (the next hot group)—might do an unintentional disservice to a young theater company who by some miracle of artistic convergence is everything a great theater troupe aught to be: ambitious, purposeful, madly talented and largely unknown (as not ever to covet public approval). ...Think young Steppenwolf.'

Jonathan Reuning
United Stages

'Derek Ahonen's fascinating new play, which he has also directed, is a rare creature among the world of Off-Off-Broadway- it is superb. The show could move as is to a commercial venue and find success. The sensational aspects of nudity and sexual freedom might get people into the theatre, but what they will come away with is an evening full of interesting ideas to ponder.'

'It is a comedy with seriousness at heart and is acted beautifully by the cast of six. ...Kautz is commanding and boyishly playful ...Pilieci walked the line between the dangerous and the comic with believable ferocity ...Fraunfelder created a calming energy to the explosiveness of the men ...Tom Bain drew a conflicted character with clarity while showing comic aplomb with the character's joking nature ...Nick Lawson immediately radiated the opposite of the communal world and while being presented as a stereotypical frat dude, he managed to be universally like that very brother that everyone knows.'

'The play is sexual, noisy, demanding, message-ridden, sweet, loving, and despite its aggressive nature, is actually rather conventional. This is perhaps why it works so well, for the structure is good and the conflict is relevant. If you're in for something substantially entertaining and thought provoking, go see it.'

Michael D. Jackson
The Off-Off-Broadway Review
oobr™

“The Amoralists manage to entertain, educate, and titillate.”

'This is a collective theatre experience, and it all starts as the audience descends into a basement infused with the scent of patchouli and encounters a messy apartment (designed by Pilieci) strewn with liquor bottles and decorated with 1960s rock posters and psychedelic paraphernalia. It would appear to be set during the Summer of Love, until someone answers a cell phone. No, this neo-hippie enclave is located in NYC's present-day Lower East Side, where the foursome manages a vegan restaurant in exchange for free room and board. They're scantily clad, quick to pounce on one another for sex (regardless of gender), and they encourage each other's rages, lovemaking, and vices.'

'The naturalistic style of acting comes easily to the pack: Pilieci is an incredible jumble of manic energy, frightening and fascinating to watch; Kautz is sexy and brooding; Lee personifies pixie innocence; and Fraunfelder unexpectedly grows to become a warm, motherly force.'

Jerry Portwood
Backstage

“It’s the same rabble-rousing theatricality that fueled the Living Theater, that made Sam Shepard plays, especially the early ones, a theatre of brutality that electrified audiences.”

Leonard Jacobs
Backstage

Despite the stagehands' strike, there are dozens of theater options available for those willing to venture farther off Broadway. Among them is the Amoralists' production of 'The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side.'

The New York Times' Arts Briefly

November 23, 2007

'(The characters) of The Pied Pipers are much to optimistic for our cynical world.'

Jennifer O'Rielly
The Villager

Praise for While Chasing The Fantastic...

'Playwright Derek Ahonen's takes the subjects of terrorism, trust, infidelity and responsibility and uses them as the building blocks for his fascinating (and quite topical) While Chasing the Fantastic…'

'Powerful and brilliantly executed confrontation scenes.'

'Pilleci is wonderful as the angry Kent, who slowly transforms from little more than a tired old stereotype in act one to someone with pain, passion and pride in himself. So much so that in the climatic face off between him and Venus, one is not completely sure who to root for. Schall is excellent as Geneva, a woman in an unhappy marriage who comes alive when she sees Venus. The chemistry and sexual tension between the two is immediately evident and the two actors play these scenes with just the right air of wariness, need and desire.'

'David Levy-Horton's direction is quite strong throughout, with him having a firm grasp of the material, bringing out the best in the cast and the script.'

Judd Hollander
The OFF-Off-Broadway Review
oobr™

“Their work is relevant on so many levels. With While Chasing the Fantastic… The Amoralists create a world of murky grey layers, which reflect the melting pot called modern America and the illusion called the American dream. Like their name suggests they have created a work of no moral judgment. There is no celebration of the right or left, good or bad, this or that. Rather they have explored self-righteous individuals blinded by their own self-indulgent ideals. “

Charles Ferraro
President Gat5 Artists Collective

'Their style of production demands a response and leaves an indelible mark on the theatergoer's consciousness. It's a trip worth taking.'

Jillian Crowther
Independent Reviewer-Stylus Magazine/Altar Magazine